away. >> that's all the time we have. conference from u.s. news he will be addressing reporters in just a moment. this is the scene where he is expected to talk. we are also expecting to hear today from the white

house, the president expected to address reporters at 105 eastern time. now just a moment ago, this has been a day of dramatic developments concerning the crisis in ukraine. we heard from british prime minister, talking about new sangs that the european union will be imposing on the situation in ukraine, he is saying that it cannot be business as usual with russia. so he says to reporters with ehave agreed to ban the freezes and assets of the european union. again, this is the situation right now in rome, as we await word from secretary of state john kerry who has been meeting in a die of flurry of diplomatic efforts. meanwhile, the prime minister says he is ready to talk to russia to settle this peacefully, but that russia won't engage. meeting with brussells with e.u. leaders on how to resolve the crisis and strengthen ties with europe.

jenna hall has the story. >> the leaders of the european union have gathered in search of a convincing and unified reproach of russia for it's actions. but this is not a body famed for it's common approach to problems, and differences with clear from the start. can we hold talks in i am very much in favor of it. at the same time, we can't just go back to normal, which means you also have to deal with different kinds of diplomatic sanctions. whether they will have to be implemented or not, we will have to decide, which also depend on how far the processes are going to progress. >> those with multibillion dollars trade relationships with russia, like germany, prefer diplomacy and dialog over immediate sanctions while others more vulnerable, some on russia's borders want moscow to know that the

actions have consequences. >> and this is sending to us. and to react immediately. because he will be mulled over, and will be different. >> so the signs are that a unanimous decision on the immediate sanctions may prove illusive, but they do seem to agree on one thing, while russia calls the new illegitimate, the prime minister is being fated as the man in chang. >> this is all joining responsibility. >> in buts sells the prevailing view is that talks should continue, and no doubt who the union supports. it is thought the thought may emerge from these

talks they are implementation though largely on hold for now. al jazeera. >> it is also been a day of diplomatic comings and goings in washington, d.c., where earlier today the white house said it will impose sanctions against those who have helped ukraine or rather helped russia unsettle ukraine. mike joins us by phone from washington, mike, what exactly are the sanctions when they take effect and who are the targets? >> . >> so russian whose have play add part in the last week or so. they are also going to be denying an extension of something already done in wake of the snipers in the ukrainian square killing some 90 ukrainians. they are including russian and ukrainian officials. it is basically the sanction of those official whose have been responsibility for the crisis to state it very

broadly. we do understand that the president will be appearing in a briefing room. we already had the two minute warning i guess that was about one minute ago. so any moment, we will see the -- i was sitting in a briefing room, nobody was prepared for this. the president just arriving back for an event, that he was speaking on a healthcare, to a latino group, he said another event completely unrelated in the afternoon, everybody very anxious to hear what news the president may have at this point, typically in a situation like this, and let's go ahead and call it a crisis. we would not see the president unless he had something to report, and here is the president. >> actually -- tins the suggestion intervention, we have been mobilizing the community to condemn

there violation of international law, and to support people and government of ukraine. this morning i signed an executive order that authorized sanctions and entities responsible for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the ukraine. according to my guidance, restrictions on the travel of certain individuals and officials. these decisions continue ourists to impose a cost on russia. and those responsibility for the situation in cry mere yeah. and they also give us the response tonight adjust our response going forward based on russia's actions. we took these steps in close coordination with our european allies. spoken to several of our closest friends and i am pleased that our international unity is on display at this important moment. already we have moved together, to announce substantial assistance for the government in

kiev, and today our allies took similar steps. i am confident we are moving forward together. united in our determination to oppose actions that violate international law, and to support the government and people of ukraine. the proposed referendum on the future would violate the constitution. and violated international law.

with the participation of the international community. in cry mia, provided it abides bits agreements and respects the sovereign city and territorial integrity. and the world should support the people of ukraine as they move to elections in may. that's the path, and secretary kerry is engaged in discussions with all of the relevant parties including russia and ukraine, to pursue that path. but if this violation of international law continues, the result of the united states and our allies and the international community will remain firm. meanwhile, we have taken steps to reaffirm our commitment to the security in year europe, and to support the people of ukraine. one last point, there's been a lot of talk about

these issues today once again, i am calling on congress to follow up on these words with action. specifically to support the imf's resources to ukraine, and to provide american assistance for the ukrainian government, so they can weather the storm and stabilize their economy, make needed reforms deliver for their people all of which will provide a smoother path way for the elections that have already been scheduled in may. thank you very much, and jay and ben and others will be happy to take your questions. >>

>> i can't believe some people are leaving. unfortunately we have there's temporarily lost our feed from the white house, that being president obama addressing reporters concerning the situation in ukraine, we have re-established that signal? >> i have no other announcements, we have no other announcements butly go straight to questions. jim. >> just a follow up on what the president said, this move towards an independent cry mia, or does the white house see that as being pushed by 39 putin, and are there steps that the u.s. can take against the pro russian leaders in the peninsula, to stop this

what you are calling an unconstitutional move by the -- within the region? when it comes to the frame work announced today, and the president just discussed we are not naming individuals in the frame work itself, the executive order create as frame work for action, and sanctions. that would include the ukrainians and russians. but we -- and obviously that would include ukrainians and russians and any part of ukraine, including cry mia. we are not identifying individuals as part of either the ban or the executive order. as for russia's involvement. >> what is happening in ukraine, i think it is self-evident, that russia

has in contradiction of international law, intervened militarily in cry mia. and bases. and russia needs to instead of pursuing that path, work with the o.s.c.e. and the united nations, and the ukrainian government towards addressing the concerns that russia claims were the motivation for the action that's taken. which is concern about the rights of ethnic russians in parts of ukraine. in particular for crimea. >> they are being violated, that is

certainly the far more appropriate course of action that they should take. >> they believe that president putin is his goal is outright annexation of the region? [inaudible]. >> rather than assess motives we can we can assess facts which are as followed. violated international law and treaties and conventions by violating the integrity of a sovereign state. the sovereign state of ukraine. violated an agreement with ukraine, and other partners made in budapest in 1994. the fact that russia has

interests in ukraine, and has specifically interests in crimea is one that we have recognized. they have a military base there. lawfully established with the sovereign state of ukraine. and our whole point has been together with our many allies and partners that russia out to pursue it's concerned is interests in a lawful matter. consistent with the u.n. charter, consistent with the budapest memorandum. and that is what we are bretting russia to do. >> for the administration to ease export restrictions. for at least help ukraine with the supply of natural gas from russia gets cut off, but also perhaps even europeans.

what is the administration's position? >> the administration is taking immediate steps to assist the government of ukraine, including in the area of energy efficiency, and energy sector to perform. our support for related reforms will help the government to take the steps needed to restore economic stability, and growth, and reduce ukrainian depend on russian gas. and d.o.e. will continue to make public. including environmental and geopolitical impacts among other factors. we are moving forward, to assist ukraine in many ways. on the matter of the

regulatory authority. >> giving them access to suppliers in the world. international suppliers other than russia. is that basically what that is. >> i think that's one form of the state department why is if the putin not being targeted himself? we are going to break away from our coverage right now. this is u.s. secretary of state john kerry, he is meeting with reporters in rome, concerning the

diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in ukraine, here is the secretary of state. >> is making a transition in a new government, and making progress, important congress and growing the economy, and tackling unemployment. tonight, i will have the pleasure of meeting with italy's new foreign minister. foreign minister and i'm hopeful we are supposed to also be joined by the prime minister but he is on his way back from brussells, maybe a little bit delayed. we hope he can make it. i want to assure our italian friends that the united states intends to continue to deepen our economic and security partnership with this government. including our shared commitment to negotiating an ambitious trade and partnership investment partnership act

agreement. we believe it would be enormously helpful, good for europe, good for the quite, and create jobs that can help create wealth. and at this time, the global economy needs that kind of trade partnership. president obama as you know will be here shortly. at the end of march, and i look forward to joining him here at this time. in order to talk about these valuable partnerships and many other issues. the reason that my counter parts and i came to rome today, was to demonstrate our commitment all together the huge number of countries that came together to demonstrate our commitment to libya's democratic transition. and we recognize that this is rally a pivotal moment for libya. as we have a post

revolution constitution, and moves towards national reconciliation and elections. i can tell you that way in america, who are still perfecting our democracy, and working and struggling to make it work, as effectively as possible, and it goes up and down, as we all know. we very well know from our own history. the difficulties we had centuries ago. in developing our constitution and giving it full bloom that this is hard work. it doesn't happen overnight, and it is something that takes devotion, and commitment, and courage. i think today we heard their dedication to helping make this transition work. we also know that libyans did not risk their lives in the 2011 revolution,

just to slip backward into the thuggery and violence. and as i told president abuse today, as well as prime minister we have no illusions about the challenges ahead, but we are committed to work very very closely with the government of libya, but also with our partners and italy is one of the central partners in the effort to help libya in this transition, together with france, great britain, germany and others. and we will continue to work closely to fight terrorism, to prevent the spread of conventional weapons and to secure those weapons where they should be secured, and to build democratic institutions. now let me say a word about the subject that i know is on everybody's mind, and that's the question of ukraine. just a few moments ago, president obama spoke in washington. and layed out the steps

that he has ordered with respect to this situation at this time. which are in keeping with precisely what we said last week, we would do as a consequence of the steps that russia decided to take with respect to crimea. >> escalated this situation. and we believe that russia has the opportunity they have the right choices in order to deescalate. the united states also has choices to make. and president obama has been cleared that we cannot allow russia or any country to defy international law with impunity. there's no place in the community of nations the

kind of aggression, and steps that we have seen taken, in crimea, and ukraine in these last days. so today, as we announced we would last week, we have taken specific steps in h the state department, also has taken specific steps in response to what has occurred. starting today, the state department is putting in place tough restrictions on a number of officials and other individuals. the united states will not grant visas to those that threaten ukraine, and if they have one it will be revoked. let me remind you, that this decision comes on top of our existing policy to deny visas that are involved in human rights abuses or political oppression.

in ukraine, and it is also on top of other steps that the united states is already taken which we have announced. at the same time, that gives the treasury department the legal interim work to sanction those who threaten ukraine's sovereignty, security, and democracy. those who contribute to the state assets, and just as importantly those who try to assert government government authority over any part of ukraine without authorization, from the legitimate government in kiev. >> and that reason even as we will keep faith

with what we have said we will do. we want to be able to have the dialog that leads to the deescalation. we want to be able to continue the intense discussion with both sides in order to try to normalize and end this crisis. >> beyond what we have done in the preference, the president has said and i have, is to emphasize the possibilities for the dialog that can lead to the normalization and diffusing of this crisis. yesterday in paris, we had lengthy discussions and we obviously met with our ukrainian counter part, the foreign minister of ukraine. and discussed with him ukrainian thoughts about

what should form to this effort to negotiate. and with the ukrainian view in mind, and with the input of all of our allies? the european community, we have made suggestions to foreign minister. which he is currently taking personally to president putin in sochi, i believe. and we have agreed to stay close touch in order to see if there's a way forward to try to get to the negotiating table, with the parties, necessary to be able to stabilize this. we have been in very close touch all day, with our european counter parts. both those who were here, in rome, as well as by telephone for those that were in brussells, and we

agreed that over the course of the next hours the next days there is an imperative to try to move quickly in order to prevent mistake, or misinterpretation, or any other measures that might preclude our opportunity to be able to find the political solution that we believe is the best way to proceed. we are convinced beyond any doubt, want nothing more than the right to determine their own future, and they want to be able to live freely in a safe country, where they can make the choices that people make in oh countries around the word. and they have the international communities full support, and while we reserve the right to take steps beyond those things that were announced today, we want

president put tyne, and everyone to understand, is to get back to a normality, and a place where the rights of the people of ukraine will be respected and the sovereignty of the nation will be respected. the united states will continue to stand with the ukrainian people as will our allies and friend in the european community and elsewhere in order so stand up for the values that we all believe in our fellow that define our fellow democracies. so thank you very very much and i look forward to the opportunity to take a couple of questions. >> thank you, the fist questions from cnn. a second ago we heard from president obama all speaking from the same script, that is the strict sanctions are going to be imposed

against russia on the issue of travel visas, those seeking to travel in and out of the country, phil ittner is with us in kiev, your reaction so far? >> an awful lot to digest, and to comment on here. just privately. they say the government here has violated their constitution, so there's this clash of perspectives on this. obviously, we will look into this further, we will talk to you more about it, but right now it seems as though yet again, these two sides are just coming from opposed positions. >> the bottom line has to be the situation right now, and other regions

there and russia remains in charge. we will follow the story and have more for you as it develops. lap program

their voices out there, and al jazeera america is doing just that. >> this winter's severe weather f. >> the u.s. president barack obama has warned that a referendum in ukraine's region on joining russia would violate sovereignty, and international law. the u.s. and its allies are united against intervention in ukraine, but also that a diplomatic solution is still possible. can proposed referendum, would violate the constitution, and violate

international law. any discussion about the future of ukraine must include the legitimate government of ukraine. in 2014, we are well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders. >> crimea's regional parliament has given it's backing in order to join russia. parliament also speeded up plans to form the referendum, that president obama just condemned is due to happen within ten days. ukraine's interim prime minister, says the vote is illegitimate. wants ukraine to be part of any decision about the future. he has been in an emergency meeting with the leaders in brussells. all right, time to get back to julie in london for more developments on ukraine. >> david, thank you, the threat of tougher sanctions by the west

against russia has led to threats from the kremlin but what would a freeze russia's biggest trading partner mean for people there. peter sharp reports now from moscow. >> it'been described as moscow's cathedral of consumerism. the biggest shopping check, this is the european mall. a huge floor filled with all the top brands from london paris and milan. the face of a new moscow facing a new threat from europe. the threatt of sanctions and retaliation for moss cue's intrigue in ukraine. shoppers now anxious about what is ahead. >> the minimum damage is that the goods will be more expensive. we work with foreign goods there are a lot of them on our market. >> we are going to be fine without europe or the u.s.a. we have a strong economy, we will cooperate more with c.i.s. countries and asia, we will turn east.

the mood on the currentsy desk is a little more relaxed, fearing the sanctions are a two way street. >> they know that sanctions can cut both ways, it is quite simply the biggest trading partner, accounting for more than 40% of trade, last year. no surprise that is the e.u. failed to share washington's enthusiasm, for strong economic measures against russia. some of the best h biggest economies are most vulnerable. 40% of the exports come from russia, while germany accounts for 30% of all exports to russia. france in 2011 negotiated the biggest sale of weaponry to russia, worth $1.6 billion, including putting up for sale a pair of helicopter carriers the first due for delivery this year. and london is now the

safe haven for russian billionaires who spent $900 million oen the london property market in the last year alone. with 70 russian companies listed on the london stock exchange. >> president putin said -- that sanctions but i they don't really expect for -- and i don't really expect there will be a substantial damage to russia's economy. >> in moscow, the kremlin is now drawing up a raft of retaliatory measures if sanction redirect examination imposed. a new law would allow moscow to seize western companies, individual private accounts and personal property could also be confiscated russian lawmakers say the new legislation would defend our sovereignty from threats. on thursday, the e.u. froze the assets of the former leader and 16 other senior officials. that sanctions met could well be widen now following news of the decision to join the federation. al jazeera, in moscow.

>> in other news, the u.k. secretary has ordered a public inquiry into the roll of undercover police. lauren was stabbed to death in london by a gang of youths more than 20 years ago. this case led to major reform of the justice system, after police were accused of international racism. undercover office erred infill straited the campaign for his murder to be investigated. hundreds of protestors in greece have been demonstrating against record high unemployment. scuffles broke out angered that joblessness is still above 27%. more than tripled in the four years since the country's economic crisis began. a french actress has launched a legal fight against the gossip magazine who accused her of having an affair with the french president. she is seeking 74,000-dollars in

damages. in january, the magazine reported that francoise was meet secretly with her, led him separated from his long time companion. >> a scientists in portugal have found the fossilized remains of who is thought to have been the largest dinosaur in europe. it was up to ten meters long and weighed about five tons, the size of it's head and teeth suggest it was near the top of the food change and was among the largest predators of the jury rahsic period. that was around $150 million ago. earlier i spoke to the new university, part of the team responsibility for the find. he says the discovery reveals more about the evolution of all dinosaurs. >> this is about one meter nor than one meter long, so you can imagine it's one of the fierce predators by the time actually it would be

probably the largest land predator that ever existed during the late jury rahsic. so it is superficially similar to t rex, and everybody knows he would be a fierce predator, the difference is their age. when the first t rex roamed the earth, this was already a fossil 18 million years before so it is much much older in age, we are talking mouth more than 50 teeth and we are talking about teeth that can be more than ten-centimeters long. they are blade like, it is like a knife with a little sword like a kitchen knife on both of the edges so clearly adapted to cut through flesh, and very very easily. on that need, yo are up to date with news from europe, back to david now in doha. >> talking about tasty morsels most of the food that feeds the world

still comes from family run farms. many of those are at risk from climate change, and land grabs by large commercial companies. as kathryn say jury reports people there are being forced to look at new ways to feed themselves. he plants strawberries and food for his animals. he did this in troughs and pipes using only one time nutrients. it is becoming popular here. >> -- and you are able to get them for free. >> they have family

farmed they use this for their animals. it is cost effective and it has freed p that you are lind to plant other crops. they only use a 10th of what they did before. and they are many countries. it also has some of the poorest people. like in many parts of the country, the problem here is that the population is growing fast, but there's not enough land to sustain it. 1.3 million people don't have enough food to eat, those in semiair rid areas can dominant others have to rely on food aid. >> my food security musician security, and because there are many areas in kenya that are relatively food secure,

but there's still very high levels of stunting very high levels of malnutrition. and in other yeas of focus really on agricultural focus. farms are being broken up into smaller sizes. can these be brought together and run at a family business rather than between little parts of the family. al jazeera, central kenya. >> that is some news out of kenya. the security council has been hearing that that country could fall apart, and be lost entirely. more soldiers are sent almost immediately. meeting in new york to consider whether to deploy thousands of soldiers who were join

african union troops already there. has forced hundreds of thousands of civilians from their homes. peace keeping force of 10,000 soldier whose would be back by 1800 police. some of the troops will come from the existing african union force which would be transferred to u.n. control. there are also 2,000 french soldiers already in car, and the european union is planning to send up to another 1,000 soldiers and police. government says it needs help now. >> if we delay, please

resist. >> after almost 100 days of being blockaded trucks are once again traveling through to bring supplies to native forces in afghanistan. the supply lines were closed last year. on the opposition party. but also truck operator whose transport goods through the two countries.

>> while many are no doubt please they have been reopened the routs remain unsafe. last week men attacked a convoy killing two drivers. it is a dangerous job, many drivers get killed and their containers are destroyed. while so many of us do it. >> they said it ended the protest after seeing a change in the drone policy, the last strike was on december 25th, according to campaigners it's the longest pause in seven years.

dozen of students have been threatened with charges of se edition. india happened to lose that match last sunday, and there have been expelled the students from the university in the state. >> they call for caution in a police investigation into this. >> if somebody stands and

supports someone who is not only the indian side, i feel very sorry and very sad. ♪

only on al jazeera america

will close down 50,000 small coal facilities this year. the government is trying to tackle heavy pollution in china, which is caused by those industries that fuel it's economic boom. is seeing the fruits of his labor. organic strawberries in this greenhouse. he is planting other fruit crops on his farm, outside beijing. a few kilometers away, they are now abandon ire works that he used to own. he was encouraged by government incentives to shift into a greener business.

>> this was quicker money in the orange business, and invested in the farm took a lot of upfront investment, plus we have to think in the longer term, and this is a better choice. >> compared with the 200 people he used to employ making iron, he has only 15 workers now. for the government, looking to reduce pollution by closing plants and beyond, the question is what to do with worker whose are layed off. especially in a society where maintaining social stability is important. >> in china's big cities especially those in the north that have experienced their worst smog, turning skylines from this, to this. the question is not whether the country can afford to reduce pollution, can it afford not to. >> beijing residents has

developed her own arsenal of weapons to deal with the smog. from face masks, to special lamps. >> it is caught crystal like, and it is maze -- >> if those don't work, there's the air pure fier and even a uv lamp, even with that, she stays away from work. and then the government would have to do something. >> the challenge for china is figuring out how much of it's wealth should be used cleaning up the mess made in creating it. al jazeera, beijing. >> time for the sports raul. >> thank you, the national football squad of switzerland is one of the top ranks teams for the world cup, it is a squad that is noticeably diverse with two-thirds being from immigrant backgrounds, switzerland has voted on immigration that could change the face of the team, and the nation. lee wellings reports.

>> the national football team of switzerland, proudly ranked as one of the top aids. but this is what the team would like like without players whose teams are immigrants. but a shock to those who see switzerland as a multiculture success story. >> too easy, it is not like that. let's say about 10%, we don't really know where the other ten came from. >> the national football squad demonstrates the confusion over the vote, over two-thirds mainly from backen countries captain was born in

switzerland of turkish parents while johan was born in the ivory coast. >> we look for what has been on a run. from the particular board, so i think we should not forget that, and try to keep it is as it is now. >> switzerland's latest world cup in the eastern town shows the complex nature of swiss national identity. in the switzerland squad there are players with crow way sean backgrounds, not for the first time, one of the players was born and raised in switzerland. >> we have a lot of trade, people from other countries and you can see it is nice feeling. >> i love it because it can be a lot of older people, like croatia. >> and both of switzerlands goals in a 2-2 draw were scored.

of crow way sean dissent. and the world cup in brazil, this team will represent years of switzerland looking outwards and opening it's doors. the politics of the next few years and the implementation of the law limited immigration, will determine how the swiss teams of the future will look and how the switzerland of the future will look. lee weltings al jazeera. switzerland. >> well, over 30 friendlies were played across the globe, as many teams get ready for that world cup, the ukraine team won't be one of them, but they manage to put on a united prong, as richard par explains. 600 miles away from their troubles the ukraine football team beat the united states 2-nil in cypress. despite being from different parts of the country, they put on a united front. andre with their first goal.

the match had originally been scheduled to play. >> we are not politicians, it is not our business, so we are trying to do our business as best as we can. we are trying to do it for our supporters and country. >> heading into their world cup, they made it seven in a row after these 2010 host south africa. both teams change their kits in the second half, they have a hat trick by score inning both yellow and blue, while fernand got the goal of the game in the 5-nil win in johannesburg. he netted 11 times in the last 13 games. and the french the lead against the netherlands. they helped with a 17 game unbeaten run, lace scores france's second in the 2-nil victory. germany with their performance against

chili, that's despite winning 1-nil. with the only goal. there was also a narrow win for england against denmark, daniel eight minutes from the time, 1-nil the final score. >> you know, the last squad before the squad, and so there's 29 here, and we always wanted to show what we can do, and that goes from -- manage what we can do. belgium are wasteful against the ivory coast, christian missing a great chance gave them a 2-nil lead. but they managed to let it slip. captain pulled one back to the africans, and an injury time, they equalized lu max, to earn a 2-2 draw. egypt going to the world

cup, but they meat the tournament bosnia, and the new coach they won 2-nil. richard partnership, al jazeera. >> the new formula 1 season is just ten days away. the australian grand prix, williams will go into that race, far more confident than they have been in recent years. they have a new driver in filepe massa. after eight seasons at ferrari, the british based team are the third most successful team in formula 1 in terms of race wins but haven't had a world champion since jackvillener back in 1997. speaking of the launch of the new car, he says he is confident the good times are coming back. >> i think it is too early to say, score as many as we can in the

first race, and it is a big thing. it is a big thing. that maybe we won't see many things finishing. so that's concentrate on that, and i would say maybe after the first races we can be a lot more sure how is the champion and where with re. >> sri lanka beat host ben he dash. play in the final against pakistan on saturday, meanwhile, the west indies chris gale will return to face england in their t 20 series. that begins on sunday. instrumental in the west indies 20 success back in 2012, returns to a team that is coming off the back of a 50 series defeat to england. in that match, got his first one day international century and decided in an tige, and just one run short of his time. as he scored 303 from six for their first. got a career best 128 for

the west indies. but he took three for england as they have the side out for 278. in the nhl beats the washington capitals in a tense match up, both teams state your name back the clock with another all brawl in the first period, they have a lot history of huge fights, when it is all other the two sides combined for a 56 minute penalty. to beat to a 6-4 victory. >> that's sport on our website, check out all al jazeera.com. thank you very much indeed, we will indeed see you later, for me david froster and the rest of the news hour team, thank you for watching good to have you with us.

america, these are thera stories we are following for you. >> 2014 we are well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders. >> president obama in an unannounced visit to the briefing room taking a hard line against russia as the crisis in ukraine forces. elsewhere in washington, it was politics as usual, as the republicans heavy hitters taking to the podium with their sites set of 2016. and an nb action team that uses a rather